SUMMIT OF THE AMERICAS: DOES MIDDLE AMERICA CARE?

As 33 Western Hemisphere heads of state plan to meet in Miami Dec. 9 for the first such meeting in 27 years, most Americans are either unaware or uninterested in this historic Summit of the Americas.

Why should they be? After all, the principal preoccupation of Americans, as borne out in the recent Republican sweep of Congress, is not international issues but domestic ones: crime, health reform, welfare, taxes, education and the federal budget. Moreover, when the spotlight has shone on events such as Somalia, Haiti, Iraq and Bosnia, public reaction has been a mixture of frustration, anger, annoyance and dispassionate resignation.

As the public mood continues to take an inward-looking course, it is important to note that isolationism has never proven to be an effective remedy for a nation's domestic ills-especially for a superpower such as the United States. The 33 invited leaders from Canada, Latin America and the Caribbean do not represent nations which lie in some distant continents, but reside in our neighborhood-one which has become increasingly close and compact due to telecommunications, transportation, cultural and economic links.

Should Middle America care? Absolutely.

There is not one issue in the 14-point Summit agenda that does not directly or indirectly touch all Americans. Trade and investment, the environment, immigration, narcotics trafficking, corruption and democratic governance all have repercussions affecting the heartland of America.

In the first instance, the economic future of this country increasingly depends on our ability to compete effectively in the global market. Foreign markets will be particularly important to economic growth in the coming year as demand in the U.S. slows and companies look to new areas. U.S. exports to Latin America have grown about 14 percent annually over the past six years. The outlook for U.S. exports to Latin America is for continued growth as economic restructuring and trade liberalization take hold throughout the continent. Big gains have already taken place in Mexico as a result of the North America Free Trade Agreement, with 1994 U.S. exports up about 22 percent. In a recent speech, President Clinton said NAFTA is well on track toward creating 100,000 American jobs. NAFTA also has advanced the desire of Latin American countries in working toward a hemispheric free trade zone. Presently, there are about 23 integration agreements in force or at different stages of negotiations throughout the hemisphere. Continued harmonization of trade agreements will eventually lead to a Western Hemispheric Free Trade Area, but only if we assist in bringing prosperity to the region and continue to integrate our economies.

In the environmental sphere, as trade and economic growth proceed along intertwining paths, North-South cooperation on environmental degradation must be strengthened. Decisions about the environment will affect all aspects of our lives -from the quality of food we consume and the development of new medicines to our weather patterns. The destruction of tropical rain forests, as well as carelessness with natural resources, will have grave consequences on our hemisphere and the world. It is vital to search for ways to reconcile the need for economic growth and prosperity with a safe and clean environment for present and future generations.

Immigration continues to loom large, as a steady inflow of immigrants touches all the major cities in the country. The overflow is especially severe from Mexico, Haiti, Cuba, Central and South America; unilateral efforts by the U.S. to control the inflow of foreigners has proven unsuccessful. The Summit, then, provides an important opportunity to critically examine at a hemispheric level the economic and political causes that lie at the root of immigration.

In addition to these three important areas, the Summit agenda will address other issues of relevance to Americans, such as drug trafficking, corruption and democratic governance.

The high financial and moral cost of corruption in both the public and private sector is endemic throughout the Hemisphere. Strong conflict-of-interest standards, transparency in rulemaking, tough anti-bribery laws and effective extradition policies must be put in place immediately. The strengthening of democratic institutions and the preservation of human rights are of great importance to an American public which does not want to see a repetition of armed conflict similar to that of Central America in the 1980s.

Hopefully, the 34 heads of state will reaffirm and recommit to market-oriented economic reform and trade liberalization, while proposing a new Agenda for the Americas, which tackles shared problems such as environmental degradation, drug trafficking, illegal immigration, unemployment, public sector waste and inefficiency and basic human needs.

If they can accomplish these tasks by the meeting's close on Dec. 11 and follow up with concrete programs and adequate resource commitments to bring about change, then the Summit will have achieved success-in St. Paul as well as Sao Paulo, Brazil.